Log Horizon - Volume 9 - Chapter 4.4

4 
“He did it! He actually went and did it! He’s awesome! That’s the spirit! Right, Gar-gar? This front-row seat is a bargain, isn’t it? Thank you, O great and glorious Lady Kanami!” 
Tearing off his scorched robe, KR cackled loudly. 
The enemy was a tough customer, too: Even as he got tangled up in Leonardo’s body blow, he’d left a parting gift. He’d intentionally severed ten-odd tentacles, and the fragments acted as midair mines loaded with acid that engulfed KR and his red dragon. 

Even as he took significant damage, KR was in high spirits. 
To him, being on the scene for the moment when the world began to move was the greatest joy there was. And that was why he’d been Kanami’s defender and devotee: because he’d seen that power in her. 
Something changed, and somewhere gears began to turn, moving the story, the world. 
Sometimes, things happened that couldn’t be described any other way. The goal of KR’s life was to be there for such moments, witness them, and help those people along. That was just as true in this other world as it had been back on Earth. Or rather, since it was flashier here, he could even say it was better, easier to understand. 
There was a scream like several thousand bowstrings snapping. 
It belonged to the aggravated, and now masterless, Black Dragon. 
Leonardo didn’t seem to have noticed, but its status display was blinking kaleidoscopically. MIASMIC LIGHTNING BLACK DRAGON, GNOLL, MIASMIC LIGHTNING BLACK DRAGON, GNOLL—the speed was so great that the display itself seemed to blur. Those two riders must have been influencing the Black Dragon in some way: The dragon had clearly lost its composure and was acting insanely aggressive. 
It was so bad that it had even forgotten to aim, and lightning leaked from its mouth, scorching the tops of the trees. 
The wind was blowing out KR’s mantle and making it flap, and as he clung to the red dragon’s neck, he yanked it in, wrapping it tightly around himself. In a mobile fight like this, no matter how excellent Adventurers’ physical capabilities were, he couldn’t afford getting yanked around by it. 
Lightning gathered in a black, warped space, then shot from the Black Dragon’s mouth. It was the creature’s Negative Thunder Breath, and the Garnet Dragon avoided it by a hairbreadth. She evaded, veering as if there were a track in the air. 
However, that didn’t negate the entire threat. It had been a violent choice, made possible by the fact that, with a dragon’s tough defensive abilities, she could ignore damage to a certain extent. That said, even if he was an Adventurer, KR was only human, and the damage was too great for him to shrug off with an Ah, I see, is that right. 
Adventurers and monsters had different approaches to combat abilities. Most monsters were born strong. They had combat abilities that were above a certain level right from the start. Meanwhile, for Adventurers, growing and changing was an adaptive strategy. Leveling up and learning new techniques were part of it, but improving their chances of survival by acquiring equipment made up a percentage that couldn’t be ignored. 
Gwaaaaaah. Cold air endurance equipment, air pressure endurance equipment, pressure endurance equipment—I don’t have enough of anything!! 
In the midst of the wind that roared and blustered at him, violent wind that was practically a rigid body, KR clung desperately to his dragon’s neck. 
The Black Dragon didn’t pursue them. 
In a short span of time, the other had climbed savagely to a distant height from which it could look down on KR and his mount. 
Aerial battles were sophisticated mental battles in which you had several choices and worked to rob your opponent of theirs. The red dragon’s mobility far outstripped that of the Black Dragon, in fact overwhelming it. She could probably win on speed in a straight line as well. However, that difference wasn’t absolute. It was affected by wind direction and air pressure, and most importantly, a difference in altitude could easily turn the tables. 
The speed that could be gained from falling was far greater than what one could gain from flapping wings or magical propulsion. That is, being at a higher altitude than your opponent gave you greater positional energy than they had. In aerial battles, having gravity on your side was an overwhelming advantage. 
The red dragon had KR on her back. Dragons could withstand the reduced air pressure and lower temperatures at high altitudes without trouble, but this wasn’t true for KR. In a dogfight, KR’s presence handicapped the red dragon. This was most obvious when it came to taking up positions at high altitude. Relying on its toughness, the Black Dragon had climbed to an altitude with low air pressure, then made up for the difference in speed by diving. 
“Gar-gar, up, up!” 
Going pale at the sight of the Black Dragon’s power as it sliced through the wind on approach, KR put his ride on the alert. Even though both creatures were the same species, their attributes and personalities were completely different. Compared to the Garnet Dragon, which specialized in aerial battles, the Black Dragon was a heavyweight raid monster. Although not very mobile, it had outstanding range attack capabilities and endurance, and it was excellent at defending strong points and at trampling down and charging. 
And now its huge body, which could have been described without exaggeration as an airborne fortress, was plunging toward them with gravity as its ally. Not only that, but as if determined not to let them get away, its jaws gaped and its front legs stretched out, their halberd-like claws fully extended. 
With a sharp whistling noise, the two dragons intersected. 
“?!” 
There was a dull thud, and the stink of ions scorched their surroundings. 
KR gave a goofy smile. He’d managed to last through the Black Dragon’s dive attack. 
When they’d crossed paths, those short front legs had swung at him. As the price for having beaten back that attack, KR’s right arm was burned black and hung limply, dangling. It was a miracle that he was managing to hold on to his Staff of Scorpius. 
“Sheesh, Gar-gar. That’s cold,” KR grumbled at his partner, who was making quiet, dissatisfied noises. Seemed she thought she’d been made fun of. 
That’s not true. KR laughed. 
The Aorsoi sky was high and blue. Against that ultramarine, with the light shining through them, the red dragon’s wings were pretty enough to provoke a sigh. Like the “pomegranate” from the Latin root of her name, they shone transparently. That didn’t mean he’d been protecting her or anything. He just couldn’t let those wings fall prey to dirty talons. 
As far as compensation went, this was fair. In the first place, they were up against a raid monster. If you wanted to take its attacks, you’d need a dedicated tank with multiple healers and the support of buffers in order to match it. If KR, a Magic Attack class, had gotten by with losing only an arm, that cost was actually pretty cheap. 
“—Let’s go with a Japan-US showdown special.” 
Marvel versus Ishimori Production. 
With that big statement in mind, KR lured a little animal out of his jacket. 
The animal, which looked like a white mouse, was a Crew Rat. It was a level-3 monster and an event creature. 
Summoner was an unusual class. 
Adventurers earned experience points by fighting and completing quests. When they’d acquired a certain number of experience points, their level went up, and they learned new techniques. In addition to experience points, there were things called mastery points, and it was possible to select special skills and make them even stronger. 

However, a certain type of special skill was acquired on quests outside of leveling up, and it was Summoners who had the most of this type of quest. 
Summoners’ main special skill was Servant Summoning. 
To be accurate, this wasn’t a single skill. It existed as a separate special skill for each summoned subject, like Servant Summoning: Hakutaku and Servant Summoning: Siren. Most of these skills were acquired through quests. This was why even Summoners on the same level used different servants, depending on the quests and the progression of the adventures they’d completed to date. 
Quests in Elder Tales were independently designed by each server administration company. As a result, countless distinctive summoned creature acquisition quests were said to exist across the world’s thirteen servers, and it was hard to grasp just how many there really were. 
However, as far as the balance with the other main classes was concerned, it wouldn’t be good if individual Summoners were able to acquire dozens of special skills. For that reason, there was a maximum number of special skills that could be acquired on quests, and that maximum was twelve. If a Summoner wanted to conclude a new contract that put them over that number, they had to choose one of their existing contracts and cancel it. 
KR muttered a short, simple spell, and along with a shining green magic circle, the Crew Rat in his hand disappeared. The cute little mouse had just concluded a contract with KR, becoming his servant. 
A magic system which KR himself knew nothing about had stored it away until he chose to summon it with Servant Summoning: Crew Rat. At the same time, since he’d gone past the limit, one of KR’s contracts was dissolved. 
“You fool!” 
There was a brief flash of light. In the blink of an eye, the unleashed light particles formed a magic circle centered on KR, who was flying through space. The enormous red magic circle looked a lot like the one used to form contracts, but its properties were reversed, and it signified release. 
“So you finally summoned me, did you?! You half-witted elf magus! Bravo! Bravo! To think you’d be my sacrifice again!” 
“Gar-gar, are you kinda hyper?” 
“I was subjected to an acid shower in a body that couldn’t talk!! That tends to excite the nerves!” 
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.” 
“What wretchedness! Why must I accept your protection?!” 
“Huh? That’s the problem?” 
“Don’t give me a trite comeback, dullard!” 
“No, you were completely right, Gar-gar, so I just—” 
“That blasted red-headed frog. I have no Dragon Breath? How dare he join you in mocking me!” 
“Y’know, you might be more popular if you just called him an ignorant human, laughed, and forgave that stuff.” 
“You imbecile! I have not forgotten that you made me into a trivial, ignorant, pseudolizard pet!” 
KR was on the verge of retorting, Well, it was that kind of contract, wasn’t it? but sensing the forceful change in mobility and the vast amount of heat she was gathering, he shut his mouth. 
The red dragon KR was riding had just more than doubled in size. She was twenty-five meters long. Her body, the elegance of which belied its huge size, held energy that seemed equivalent to an active volcano, and she climbed all in a rush. 
The speed of her ascent was filled with an overwhelming sense of power. There was an extraordinary amount of mana in her wings. The dragon was a single streak that led to the sky, a line the color of shining blood. 
“‘Draw the Black Dragon away’… What a small-minded thing to say.” 
“That frog-man is the very essence of ignorance and unenlightenment.” 
“That sounds like a new type of demihuman.” 
“Do not blame me if you bite your tongue!” 
The red dragon, who fired something like a shining, crimson crescent moon from her mouth, had finally shown her true worth. 
A level-90 Raid-rank monster. 
KR’s partner, the Garnet Dragon, raced across the sky. 
Becoming Raid rank hadn’t simply doubled the size of the Garnet Dragon’s body. Her HP was several thousand times greater, and her attack power, defensive power, reaction speed, and spellcasting abilities had all risen prodigiously. 
Her speed and mobility were no exception, and as she flew through the sky, she looked like red lightning. The difference between her and the Black Dragon, which had been slight up to a few moments ago, had clearly widened. 
“Unless I show ’em something impressive, I don’t get to appear in the final episode, see.” 
“What are you talking about?” the Garnet Dragon hissed. 
“It’s how supporting characters fight.” 
Speaking defiantly, KR raised the staff in his undamaged left hand like a gun turret. 
A complicated magic design surfaced in the lantern portion at the tip of the long staff, beginning to draw in tiny light particles from the space around it. It was Hive of Evil Spirits of the Abyss, a phantasmal equip item that had the tears of Elreida of the Fifth Prison closed inside it. Against a beautiful, somber noise of moving mechanisms that was in sharp contrast to its name, KR wove a spell. 
The basic performance of Hive of Evil Spirits of the Abyss was high as well, but what set it apart was its ability to temporarily seal a servant. Sealing a servant with recovery abilities in the “Hive” at its tip raised the baseline for the special abilities of other servant summons. 
“Gar-gar!! Goooo!” 
“Right!” 
With that war cry, the man and the dragon unleashed a crimson ray of heat filled to the brim with magic.